Comments on: Frugality and Organizationhttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/frugality-and-organization/
Financial talk for the rest of usSat, 27 Aug 2016 22:24:42 +0000hourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1By: littlepitcherhttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/frugality-and-organization/#comment-922549
Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:53:35 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5853#comment-922549Most living space is not used as storage space, but as empty space or display space. A smaller dwelling with a larger storage space will save you big money. Storage solutions in-house (one closet dedicated to usable bulk buys, a pantry for home-canned goodies and empty jars, storage ottomans and chest/coffee tables, are tangible financial assets. Organize living space effectively and keep open storage space in case of bargains. Not all bargains are bulky–markdown spices, the boxes of pricey herb teas, toothpaste, and mason jar lids I purchased for .50/ea, reconditioned or sale portable hard drives, memory cards, and flash drives to save on paper, certainly qualify.
]]>By: Katehttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/frugality-and-organization/#comment-922506
Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:30:10 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5853#comment-922506Corrugated cardboard breaks down very quickly, especially if you tear it into smaller pieces. Worms seem to especially love it. I compost all of my paper towel and toilet tubes but no cardboard with a “slick” side.
My frugal compost container is a 5 quart plastic paint bucket with a top from Lowes and a recycled Cool Whip container (generic :o). I gather scraps in the Cool Whip container and at night I dump them into the paint bucket. When the bucket is full, I bury it in my compost pile and rinse out the bucket with the hose. It is lightweight and easy to carry because of the wire handle.
]]>By: Gretchenhttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/frugality-and-organization/#comment-922449
Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:54:28 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5853#comment-922449Most of your compost pile needs to be brown. Leaves are the best source. I can’t imagine how long cardboard would take to decompose.

I tried vermicomposting but the worms all died on me. I could not keep it dry enough for them.

As far as getting rid of yard sale stuff, I just donate it. Stuff sitting around waiting for a sale where I might make $20 is not worth the chance it’ll work it’s way back into my home.

Regarding kids cloths. We get tons of kids clothes. I use labels on black plastic bags to keep it all sorted. I’m constantly sorting through new clothes to ensure that everything ends up in its proper gender/size and to ensure that we don’t miss anything. I have to do it about 6 times a year. I keep a box marked “donation” in the laundry room so things that are too small go straight from the dryer to that box.

]]>By: Katehttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/frugality-and-organization/#comment-922394
Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:30:48 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5853#comment-922394You know you are a dedicated composter when:
You are staying overnight in a motel and want to bring the coffee grounds home instead of having them go in the trash.
]]>By: Janehttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/frugality-and-organization/#comment-922392
Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:37:49 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5853#comment-922392@Kristine
You need “brown” material to break down with your “green” kitchen scraps. Some brown materials are any yard waste, cut up cardboard, newspaper or shredded paper. Dirt or compost can also be used. You need a decent amount of nitrogen as well to get it all to break down. Things high in nitrogen: grass clipping, blood meal, most of your kitchen scraps, manure, coffee, etc. You can also add red worms to speed the process. I have them in my regular bin. I used to vermicompost (w/worms), but that was too much work.
]]>By: david/money crashershttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/frugality-and-organization/#comment-922391
Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:08:11 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5853#comment-922391Frugality, organization and time management–the three go hand in hand

What else do you need? You knowledge appreciated. I knew there was a reason my composting was not composting!

]]>By: Waywardhttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/frugality-and-organization/#comment-922374
Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:31:07 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5853#comment-922374I, too, do the clothes-to-rag bin routine in my house. Though, after a while, even the rag bin needs to be purged.
]]>By: valleycat1http://www.thesimpledollar.com/frugality-and-organization/#comment-922369
Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:53:41 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5853#comment-922369I’ve carried reusable shopping bags for at least 20 years. Back in the day, some stores would refuse to let me leave without their logo plastic bag, but most stores are with the program now & it’s no big deal. If the cashier starts putting my items in a plastic bag, I’ll often help with the transfer to mine. I would use the bags even if no one gave the $ back on them – it’s all about not toting home a gazillion plastic bags & then deciding whether to keep or recycle them.
]]>By: DivaJeanhttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/frugality-and-organization/#comment-922365
Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:40:28 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5853#comment-922365The other concern about storing so much extra is that you may miss its window of usefulness. My example of this is the clothing we circulate among friends/family for kids. (I’ve posted about it a million times here). We ended up with a larger than usual amount of clothes for 3-4 yr old boys and no one else in our circle needing that. We stored these in our basement and took out what we thought we had for spring/summer- but missed a big box of shorts and ended up buying more.

And not to mention the window of usefulness (ie- expiration dates) on pantry items like packaged foods. I try to go through every other month and check the dates. If its getting too close (ie within my next two months) and I don’t foresee us finishing whatever it is, it gets donated to our church neighborhood food pantry for immediate use.

The final step isn’t going through all the stuff you no longer want, it’s realizing that you’ll have to do the whole thing again in a few weeks/months/years.

Buying/renting a smaller place is probably more cost effective but there are a lot more criteria than square footage that goes into moving into a place. Like rural/urban/suburban or moving near family or work or the school district you want. Currently we’re fine in less than 500 sq.ft. of living space, but at my next move – due to where I’m moving, the smallest place available for my criteria will be almost 3 times that size. It won’t be so I can ‘store’ stuff, it will be because I will be closer to work and outdoor spaces like parks/woods. Although I’ll be buying the smallest house that fits my criteria, it will still be a lot larger than what I currently have AND that means I will have space to store stuff (good!) and space for lots of clutter to gather without being noticed/underfoot and in the way (bad!).

Over-estimation of needs: we bought a large stock of nappies (cloth nappies did not work out for us), and then our daughter unexpectedly started using the potty at the age of two. We ended up giving the nappies to friends who just had a baby. With food, you have to be careful about the expiry date — will you really use that much in the given time? Moreover, your tastes may change: a wine that you really loved at the first tasting may become less attractive after you have had the 30th bottle.

Falling prices: In the 1990s, I bought hundreds of blank CD-ROMs for my company in what appeared to be a fantastic deal. A few months later, the prices had dropped much lower even for small quantities.

Change of situation: In the end we used far fewer CD-ROMs than planned because all our customers became connected to the internet, and we could distribute information and software through our website, instead of mailing CDs through the postal service. We would have been better off just buying the CD-ROMs we needed for the next 3 months.

]]>By: Greghttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/frugality-and-organization/#comment-922342
Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:43:14 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5853#comment-922342From my experience, I disagree with the “Save everything” rule. Last time I moved house, I found myself with hundreds of plastic bags in various sizes , dozens of cardboard boxes (for sending stuff I sell on ebay), a dozen broken electronics items (for geeky DIY projects), two bicycle frames (to be made into spare bikes for guests), diskettes in all sizes from 3.5″ to 8″, and so on — all waiting in vain for their day to come. In the end, all of these were either thrown out, sold on eBay or donated to the thrift store.

On the other hand, I have been very successful with saving and re-using screws, packaging materials, envelopes, and all sorts of cables.

Nowadays, I apply a variant of the Stranger Test do decide what to keep: if a stranger knocked at my door and offered me the item for free, would I happily take it, or would I send him to hell?

]]>By: Robertahttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/frugality-and-organization/#comment-922333
Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:03:11 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5853#comment-922333These are great tips. Sadly, however, I can’t save everything. Doing this leads me to poor organization as in “let me save this for something someday” neither of which ever comes. The key for me is knowing WHAT to save, and as the post says, having a place to store it. I really like Peter Walsh’s book “It’s all Too Much,” which I checked out from the library and read this summer. It helped me to differentiate those things worth saving and storing and those things to release.
]]>By: Matthewhttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/frugality-and-organization/#comment-922322
Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:34:46 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5853#comment-922322Having a smaller residence is a great way to save money if you want to have a smaller residence, but many of us do not want that. My wife and I view ourselves as frugal, but we also both enjoy living in a large condo and using all the lifestyle benefits it gives.

I agree with Katie and Valleycat1 that it may not be worth buying/renting a bigger place just to be able to store items for the future. For those of us with the space to put into it however, stockpiling can be a powerful tool for frugal living.

]]>By: Briannehttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/frugality-and-organization/#comment-922319
Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:01:52 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5853#comment-922319Good luck with the canvas bags. I rarely get the discount because the cashier doesn’t know or doesn’t remember. Then they act unbelievably put out that they have to use my bags instead.
]]>By: Rebeccahttp://www.thesimpledollar.com/frugality-and-organization/#comment-922318
Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:58:03 +0000http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5853#comment-922318In regards to valleycat, what we do is have a designated area for things that we are currently storing but not using for a while, or need to be repurposed. We keep a few shelves in the basement for this. I also go through this area at least once a year to get rid of the excess.

I also agree that as soon as I have a small bag of stuff to donate, out it goes! I don’t want that clutter hanging around waiting for a yard sale. We donate at least a bag a month.